7/17/09 Former Guns N' Roses, The Cult, and now current Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum has well, dug his heels into a new rock and roll side project dubbed the Darling Stilettos, a four member group of gorgeous girls who sing, dance, shimmy, and shake their way through a series of classic rock covers. The group performed last night at Cinespace in Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd, in front of what could be described as a stack of women jealous of these girls' voices, bodies, and moves, and a pack of men jealous of Sorum for being such a lucky bastard! All in all, the entire crowd enjoyed what they heard, saw, and experienced. Here's my review:
HEELING HAND: SORUM STEERS STILETTOS TO STARDOM!
Studly Matt Sorum, former Guns N' Roses and The Cult drummer, and current stickman for Velvet Revolver, obviously knows a thing or two – or a thousand – about women and rock and roll. He's combined those two passions in his latest side project, the Darling Stilettos, a four female act that combines rock, raunch, dance and danger, much to the delight of men and woman alike. With Sorum on drums, Ace, Gina, Lindsey, and Allie strutted their stuff last night at Cinespace on Hollywood Blvd, wearing skin-tight black leather pants and barely there tops, and, as to be expected, stilettos, while singing classic rock anthems made so by bands such as Queen, LedZeppelin, AC/DC, T. Rex, David Bowie, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols, just to name a few. Historically, male rockers are said to have swagger; these sexy and sassy singers have an abundance of swagger with the added well, attraction of being able to shimmy and shake while belting a tune. As Sorum himself put it, while walking down the red carpet prior to the show, "This is Rock and Roll A-Go-Go." If you're into sex, pumps and rock and roll, the Darling Stilettos are a perfect fit!
7/15/09 If you've yet to experience the spiritual, tribal, communal feeling of seeing Michael Franti & Spearhead live in concert, do yourself a favor and catch him this Tuesday, July 21, at the equally spiritual, tribal, communal – and beautiful – Greek Theatre in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. Michael will be opening for theCounting Crows, so you'll get two incredible bands for the price of one. In fact, Augustana is also on the bill, so make it three! Only at the Greek!! Click here to hear a great conversation I had with Michael Franti earlier this year. And finally, pick up Michael Franti & Spearhead's current All Rebel Rockers album. If "Say Hey (I Love You)" doesn't immediately get you up and dancing, you need to check your pulse! See you at the Greek this Tuesday!!
6/29/09 Singer-songwriter Keaton Simons tonight played a brief acoustic set at the Opium Lounge in Crustacean Restaurant in Beverly Hills. I'd never been to this venue before, and based on conversations I had with a few folks in attendance, it seemed like this may have been the first night ever music had been performed there. The setup in the room was a bit strange, with a mix of folks there for dinner, waiting for their tables, and those of us there strictly for the performance. Despite the unique surroundings, Keaton soldiered on, and delivered heartfelt performances of several songs found on his current Can You Hear Me (an appropriate title for tonight's performance, for sure) album. Standout songs from the CD, and tonight's performance, include "Without Your Skin," "Good Things Get Better," "Misfits," and the title track. Catch Keaton's cuts at www.keatonsimons.com. Thanks to my friend, April, for joining me tonight, and a special hello to my new friend, Lisa Hughes, whom I met this evening. It was a pleasure.
6/28/09 Man, did Aly and I catch a break on the weather today at the Warped Tour stop in Ventura. This is the 3rd or 4th year Aly and I have covered and enjoyed the Ventura show, and each year it's been HOT!! VERY HOT!! Today, the ocean breeze was keeping the temperature down considerably. My thanks to Aly for videotaping my backstage interviews with Saosin, TV/TV, and Alexisonfire. I'm hoping I'll be able to share some of the footage here soon. Or I'll put it up on my website, www.currentclassics.com. All of these guys were very cool, and I enjoyed each of my brief conversations with them. For me, easily, the standout performance of the day was TV/TV. They have an excellent pop rock sensibility, and therefore are obviously much more melodic than most bands on the Warped Tour. And because this year's lineup didn't really include a real big name Aly and I wanted to see as a headliner, we left early, got lunch in downtown Ventura, and headed home. People, I was in bed by 10!!!!!! Next up: Keaton Simons tomorrow night.
And tonight, I went to the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip to see Dramarama, and hang out with my good friends John Easdale (singer, songwriter) and Mike Davis (bass). I brought along my sister Connie, my friend Erica Forster and her boyfriend. It's always fun to see Dramarama live because John is one of my favorite songwriters, and Mike works real hard onstage, while having a great time! Of course everyone knows Dramarama's biggest hit, "Anything, Anything," but I guarantee if you see them in concert, you will be blown away by what a powerful live band they are, and by the array of excellently crafted songs John's penned.
No rest for the wicked: tomorrow morning I'm off to the Warped Tour stop in Ventura, north of L.A. for some quality time with Aly, and some face-to-face time with a handful of bands. Yes, folks, the music never ends!!
6/26/09 I picked up a one-day job today, thanks to my beautiful friend, Tanya Hart from the American Urban Radio Network, to run sound for an all-day video shoot. The AURN partnered with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to shoot a series of public service announcements (PSA's) featuring a host of celebrities, encouraging the African-American community to get tested for HIV/AIDS. I was honored to be asked to help on such an important cause, and grateful for the opportunity to help. Some of the celebrities who stopped by to lend their voices – and in certain cases, considerably gorgeous face – included Angela Bassett, Iona Morris, Mateo, Laila Ali, Tamera Mowry, Jody Watley, Kevin Phillips, Fonzworth Bentley, Danny Granger, and the extremely beautiful Beverly Johnson. And they call this "work?" J Thank YOU, Tanya!
6/25/09 As many of you know, I was fortunate enough during my days at Rockline to help kick start the careers of some of today's biggest bands. Collective Soul and Matchbox Twenty are just two examples. Our Lady Peace is a group who has achieved superstardom in their native Canada, but has yet to break it really big in America. Don't get me wrong, they've done OK, had a few songs on the charts, etc, but nothing to the degree of the two bands I noted above. Well hopefully that will all change with the July 21 release of Burn Burn, the band's 7th studio album, and I believe one of their best. I'm predicting the album's first single, "All You Did Was Save My Life," will well, burn burn up the charts, and make these guys household names worldwide!! Lead singer Raine Maida is another one of a handful of musicians (rock stars) I'm blessed to say is a friend. He invited a tiny handful of people and me to his beautiful home studio here in L.A. tonight to hear songs from Burn Burn. Though we hadn't seen each other for years, it was as if we'd seen each other the night before. Raine is a very soft-spoken guy off stage – and in this case, at home – but he's anything but onstage! And I can't wait to see him and the band July 28 onstage at the Troubadour here in L.A. Again, Burn Burn arrives July 21: trust me, I'm sure you'll love what you hear in your own home just as much as what I heard tonight in Raine's home. Thanks again, my friend. It was great to see you again.
7/17/09 Former Guns N' Roses, The Cult, and now current Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum has well, dug his heels into a new rock and roll side project dubbed the Darling Stilettos, a four member group of gorgeous girls who sing, dance, shimmy, and shake their way through a series of classic rock covers. The group performed last night at Cinespace in Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd, in front of what could be described as a stack of women jealous of these girls' voices, bodies, and moves, and a pack of men jealous of Sorum for being such a lucky bastard! All in all, the entire crowd enjoyed what they heard, saw, and experienced. Here's my review: 
